


Blinding Lights

by offcolor



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/offcolor/pseuds/offcolor
Summary: Dr. Haruno winds up running with the wrong crowd after a chance encounter, and Sasuke is left to balance upholding his side of the family business while carefully navigating a potential relationship.SasuSaku, non-massacre modern AU, slow burn.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 21
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

Tl;dr: real life story with real life shit read with caution pls.

It’s been awhile since I wrote anything fanfiction related, and most of my time these days is spent writing nonfiction and academic pieces. This is an M rated fanfiction, and will feature scenes dealing with violence, drugs, explicit language, and sex. It may not be evident in the first chapter, and if these themes distress you, please read with caution.

I hope you enjoy my story.

**Backseat Freestyle**

“Ugh…God, Ino. Clean up after yourself…”

Sakura’s morning began as she stumbled through the dark hallway of her apartment, special thanks to her roommate. She kicked the pair of name brand heels to the side of the hallway, rolling her eyes for good measure. Goosebumps erupted along her skin as she entered the bathroom. One thing she hated about living in Brooklyn was that the winter months were always frigid, and no matter how much her or Ino turned up the thermostat, the chill still managed to creep in.

She began her pre-shower routine by undressing and taking a look in the mirror. Her fingers roamed along her face and jawline as she searched for imperfections. Her skin was pale, but thankfully clear. Her green eyes were underlined with a little bit of black smudge—A reminder of the date that had gone wrong. Sakura scowled as she reached for her makeup remover. It was an impulse decision on her part to meet with a tinder interest for a date. He barely looked up from his phone, and when he did, he was staring at the waitress’s ass. Sakura scrubbed hard at her skin and threw the towelette into the trashcan with intent; the memory of the night angering her.

The worst part of the whole thing was that he said he was “going to the bathroom”, and then never returned. She winced, remembering the expensive bill. She had sworn after that night to never go on tinder again. Every other date had been intimidated by the M.D after her name; she couldn’t remember the last time she went out with a guy and just had _fun._

The familiar ding of her cell phone pulled her out of her thoughts, and she reached for her phone. A text message flashed across her screen.

[4:12 AM] Shizune

Got called in at 3. See u soon.

Sakura grimaced. Like herself, Shizune was doing her residency rounds in the emergency department, so she often got called in at all times of the day. Sakura felt safer walking to the hospital with Shizune, but the unpredictable call schedule meant she was going to have suck it up for today.

[4:13 AM] Sakura

All good. Lunch?

[4:13 AM] Shizune

my office at 11:30?

[4:14AM] Sakura

Cool :) 

Sakura placed her phone onto the sink, deciding to get a move on with her morning routine. Before long she stood before the door, armed in a warm jacket, a pair of scrubs, and a shiny tumbler filled with hot coffee. Sakura smirked as the stepped out the door, silently laughing at the note she had left for Ino on the counter.

_Almost died tripping over your mess in the hallway. Enjoy the hangover!_

_-S_

Ino was notorious for long nights out on the town. Living in the Western part of Brooklyn was convenient for Sakura because it gave her access to the subways that took her to the hospital. For Ino, not only was the apartment above her salon, but it was also easy to access the best hot spots in the city. That meant a lot of late nights and rough hangovers for the blonde. Sakura was nice enough to leave a glass of water and some ibuprofen next to the note.

In what felt like an eternity but was only about ten minutes, she was trotting down the steps of the subway. Once she had swiped her card and entered through the cold steel turnstiles, Sakura found and empty seat next to a window and sat down, setting her purse down at her feet.

She looked around the cabin as it lurched forwards. It was Friday morning and the end of the work week for many; there were tired faces all around. Pulling out her phone from her pocket, her eyes shifted downwards, and she instinctively opened the news app first. She scrolled through several boring looking headlines, finally settling on one.

**_Uchiha corp. stock rises towards an all-time high as CEO sets the date to unveil company’s venture into the automobile market_ **

_Over the weekend, Uchiha company executives revealed their plans to expand the company beyond air travel at the fundraising dinner for the Mikoto Uchiha foundation. Uchiha enterprises will exhibit their line of vehicles at an exclusive event the following weekend. Both sons of CEO Fugaku Uchiha were present at the fundraising dinner despite the youngest sons most recent legal troubles…_

_Boring,_ Sakura thought as she idly scrolled past a few more headlines. This is how she spent most of her mornings, commuting to the hospital long before the sun rose in the sky. It was hard work, and she was tired, but it was rewarding. It made her feel like she was worth something.

_“23rd street station”_ the trains automated voice blurted up. Sakura shoved her phone into her coat pocket and stood up. She always liked to be one of the first people off of a train, being in the middle of a rushing crowd of people was never her thing. Despite this, she was fond of living in the city. It was a far cry from how she grew up in the suburbs.

Sakura quickly hopped up the steps from the subway station into the city. The hospital was a short walk away from the station, which the pink haired doctor was thankful for. She hustled down the sidewalk and through the sliding glass doors, happy to finally be in a place that had a consistent source of heat. Sakura waved at the front desk staff as she cruised through the lobby, heading towards the clinic.

“Dr. Haruno!” one of the nurses waved at her from down the hallway and scurried over to her.

“Good morning!” the nurse greeted her. 

“Good morning, Tora” Sakura responded. It was bad news when one of the nurses approached her with this much energy so early in the morning, and extra bad news if said nurse was out of breath.

“there’s a patient in the clinic I really think you should take a look at.”

And with that, Sakura was very much looking forward to lunch with Shizune.

.

.

.

Fugaku considered himself to be a simple man. He didn’t like to concern himself with the small details, which is exactly why his two sons were seated in his office right now.

“If there’s a problem, then you need to take care of it” he stated to the younger of his two children. Just before Sasuke was ready to speak up, Fugaku raised his hand.

“And I don’t care how you fix it, but you can’t cause attention.”

Sasuke swallowed his words and let out a sharp breath from his nose. He was silent for a moment as his black eyes shifted from his father to his brother. Itachi’s fingers were intertwined and resting on the space between his nose and upper lip as he slouched back into the chair. Like his brother, he had cold black eyes that matched his ink black hair. Though Itachi wore his hair longer than his brother preferred, it was obvious that both boys were very much their fathers’ children; the genetics of his family ran strong through their blood. The two brothers locked eyes, and without speaking a word Itachi understood the obvious.

“Orochimaru is probably aware of our desire to stay out of any negative light right now” Itachi said.

As Itachi spoke, Sasuke leaned forward in his seat and brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he looked at his father.

“He’s going to make it difficult” Sasuke breathed out as he leaned back into the chair, assuming the same position as his brother.

Fugaku sat up from his office chair and turned his attention to Sasuke.

“Just figure it out. I don’t want to see your face on the news tomorrow”. As Fugaku spoke, he smoothed out his designer suit and adjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt. “Itachi and I have a meeting in the Hamptons overnight. Text your brother and keep in touch about this” Fugaku said matter-of-factly.

As his brother and father prepared to leave, Sasuke remained seated in a deep contemplation. He knew what the kind of message Orochimaru was trying to send when his weekly payment came up abysmally short. As soon as they publicly announced their newest venture, it was clear that Uchiha enterprises needed to maintain a healthy image while his brother and father prepared to initiate a successful campaign for their new car line; and it wasn’t a secret that Orochimaru was never enthusiastic about their 12.5% shareholding in his casino.

Sasuke rose from his chair in a quick but graceful motion. He knew what needed to be done. His hand reached into the pocket of his black jeans. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

He pulled the phone up to his ear, and it rang as Sasuke followed his brother and father to the helicopter pad that was located on top of the corporate building. The nice thing about being the heir to a company that deals largely with air travel was the unlimited access to state-of-the-art aircraft that would take him anywhere and everywhere…Considering the weather conditions were safe of course.

Sasuke tutted in aggravation as his phone call was sent to voicemail. His thumbs tapped his phone as he set a quick series of texts.

[9:14 AM] Sasuke

Answer ASAP Naruto

[9:15 AM] Sasuke

Wake up IDIOT

Sasuke fumed at being ignored while Itachi and Fugaku conversed about miscellaneous business affairs. As the trio walked through the furnished lobby, Sasuke couldn’t help but notice the obvious stares. Although his focus remained on his device, he could see heads turn in his peripheral vision. He didn’t take offense. After all, it was only a natural reaction to steal a quick look when three very important individuals strolled through your workplace.

Everybody knew who they were. Fugaku had taken over as CEO of Uchiha enterprises when his father passed away. Itachi’s official title was CFO, yet it was well-known fact that the elder brother would one day take reign of the company just as his father had done. Their reputations were spotless, which was more than Sasuke could say about himself. The part of the family business that he oversaw gave him no title or prestige but was necessary to keep the business safe. To keep the family safe.

In a way, it was Sasuke’s job to maintain a flow of non-taxable income to increase the company’s capital. The income he maintained came from what the media might refer to as criminals, but Sasuke never bothered himself with labels. Some people liked to call what he did a “crime” that he should be “punished for”, but thanks to his family’s connections it wasn’t likely he would ever face the kind of punishment he probably deserved.

The three men reached a door at the end of a long corridor; two strong looking men in black suits were positioned on either side of the entrance to the helicopter pad.

“We’re all ready to go, sir”

Fugaku nodded as he took the lead up the short stairwell, the thumping of the helicopter’s rotors becoming louder as they approached a second door that lead outside. As Sasuke stepped onto the helipad behind his brother and father, the wind whipped across his face, throwing his hair up in a million different directions. Itachi waved a quick goodbye as he walked with the pilot and security guard to board the small black helicopter. His father waited behind.

“Don’t cut him a deal, son.” His father yelled as he put his hand on his youngest son’s shoulder. Sasuke nodded, afriad any words he might utter would be lost in the wind. Fugaku turned to start towards the helicopter, but he hesitated. He glanced back. His youngest had grown into quite the young man, and although he felt some guilt for Sasuke’s involvement in delinquent affairs, he was proud of the boy.

“And don’t get arrested on bullshit charges this time.”

And with that, Fugaku climbed aboard the helicopter. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned around to go inside; the wind was getting very intense, and the honest truth was that heights scared him.

Once Sasuke was safely inside the corridor, he was pleased to hear the sound of his phone ringing. He unlocked his device and answered with haste.

“I just got home 3 hours go. Give me a break bastard!” an angry voice bellowed through the phone’s speakers.

“I only had time to stop for a coffee before a meeting with my father, so shut up” Sasuke snapped at Naruto. It was true they had been out late last night taking care of business, but such things were occupational hazards.

Naruto let out an exasperated breath that crackled over the sound of Sasuke’s speakerphone.

“Well, what the fuck does he need this early in the morning?”

“We need to take care of some things tonight. It needs to be...” Sasuke paused, struggling to find the words so early in the morning, “an organized attempt.”

Naruto was silent for a moment, and Sasuke heard the sound of rustling blankets faintly through the phone.

“Alright, I’m getting up. ‘Cause now I have to go get Shikamaru” Naruto mumbled.

“You can’t just call him?”

“He’s probably not gonna answer, because unlike me he’s not a fuckin’ cuck” Naruto snapped in a half joking, half angry tone.

Sasuke snorted at his partners joke.

“Meet me at my apartment”

“And you’re gonna make me drive into Manhattan? Dick!”

.

.

.

“Tonight?! Oh no, I couldn’t possibly” Sakura blustered while turning her attention to her lunch.

“Sakura” Shizune pouted, drawing out the last vowel of the woman’s name a little longer than usual. When Sakura didn’t respond to her, she rolled her eyes.

“Sakura, you’re on call tomorrow, live a little!” the brunette pleaded.

Sakura shrugged and pushed around the croutons on her Caesar salad. Given her luck, she would be called in after a late night out.

“I’ll buy all your drinks!”

Now that had caught Sakura’s attention, and she pretended to think by pouting her lips and tapping a finger on her chin.

“Maybe I’ll come out for a little bit” she said coyly. Her lips tightened in an effort to hide the smile that threatened to blossom across her lips.

Shizune, quick to pick up on such things, let out a short cackle and pointed at Sakura. “You were just trying to get free things from me!”

“What can I say, I needed to be convinced” Sakura said through a smile, stabbing her fork at her salad.

“But if we’re going to the club, then we have to invite Ino. She’ll kill me if I come home late and she wasn’t invited” Sakura added.

Shizune hummed in approval, mouth full of food. The two ate in silence while Sakura texted her roommate. Of course, Ino had said yes—it was like hangovers didn’t even exist for the woman. She was to meet Sakura at the hospital later that evening with an outfit, which Sakura hoped wasn’t too revealing for her tastes.

The two women fell into a comfortable silence. Sakura picked at her salad; it had been a busy morning. Thankful that her clinic hours were over, Sakura was relieved that she had the chance to sit down and relax. The emergency clinic had been so busy that morning, and the pair didn’t have time to meet until almost 4 in the afternoon. Since she arrived, she had seen everything from strep throat to heart attacks. Although her body had stopped, her mind kept rolling like spinning rims on a stopped vehicle. She hoped that she had made all the right decisions, and that her supervising doctor felt the same way. Tsunade was a terrifying woman, and Sakura didn’t exactly covet the idea of being called out for her mistakes.

Sensing Sakura’s apprehensive mood, Shizune cleared her throat as if she were going to say something important.

“I saw a guy with the smallest penis today”

Sakura choked a little on her salad.

“Shizune! you’re the worst!” The pink haired doctor coughed, ridding her airway of lettuce.

“No! It’s fine. Clearly, he was making it work. He had FOUR kids visit!”

Sakura used her hand to stifle her laugh, she knew it was an inappropriate thing to find humor in. Shizune always knew what to say to pull her out of a self-doubting downward spiral. Sakura sighed and leaned back on the plush office chair, staring at her empty takeout container.

“I think Tsunade hates me” She blurted out. Shizune rolled her eyes and groaned in response.

“You think every supervising doctor hates you. Tsunade pages you more than anybody when you’re here” the brunette protested.

Sakura shrugged and all of the sudden found her fingernails very interesting, unable to take Shizune’s very obvious compliment. She had expressed to Tsunade her wishes for remaining within the emergency department for the remainder of her residency, as out of all the practices she had cycled through, emergency care was her favorite. The elder practitioner was practically testing her at this point, paging her at all times of the—

“Are you going to answer that?”

Sakura blinked herself out of her thoughts, hearing the incessant beeping that filled the room. “Oh fuck” Sakura muttered, trailing off as she wrestled the pager from her purse. Dark black letters flashed at her.

*TRAUMA ALERT*

Level 1 Emergency dept.

ETA 5 min.

Sakura shoved the device into her pocket and began to stand up, straightening out her scrubs and reaching out for her white coat which was hanging on the backside of the office door.

“Looks like there’s an ambulance coming in. Mind if I leave my things here?”

Before Shizune could answer, another round of beeping filled the room. Sakura watched as her brunette companion searched for her own pager; the slight raise in her eyebrows didn’t go unnoticed.

“Looks like there are multiple ambulances arriving. Let’s go” Shizue insisted, gathering her things before rushing to follow Sakura out the door. The two doctors walked side by side down the white linoleum hallway, their pace quick. Lucky for them, Shizune’s office was a short walk away from the emergency bay where the patients would be arriving.

Once they entered the room, it was chaos. Nurses and doctors running around, doing their best to prepare themselves and their stations for the incoming trauma patients. The room itself electric with anticipation, and Shizune and Sakura didn’t hesitate to join the madness. In the center of the room was a blonde doctor barking out orders to a group of nurses. she wore her honey colored tresses in two low ponytails that spilled down her back. She was a good-looking woman with a petite frame and a large bust. Her aura exuded dominance, and her eyes were bright with determination and confidence.

Sakura rushed over, adrenaline beginning to flow through her system from the anticipation of the arriving patients.

“Tsunade!” Sakura exclaimed, just a tad out of breath. “Have you heard anything yet?”

“It’s a triple shooting. You’ll lead the team on the first patient, Shizune will take the second patient, and I’ll take the last”

“Any critical?”

“One. Not sure which.”

Sakura huffed and nodded as a sign of understanding and turned to prepare her team. She jogged towards the sliding doors, hearing the sirens of the ambulance growing closer. “I’ll be taking the first arrival” she articulated with vigor as one of the nurses assigned to her team handed her a thin blue hospital gown and hair net. Sakura threw the gown over her arms, and turned around, a silent request for the same nurse to aid her in tying the gown behind her back.

“You’ve got the airway, yes?” Sakura affirmed with another nurse, who barked out a short verbal confirmation.

Sakura pulled the hairnet over her pink bun, and just as she was pulling on her gloves the first patient rolled through the sliding doors, accompanied by three frazzled looking EMT’s. This must be the critical patient, she thought as she waved “bring them over this way, please!” Sakura declared as nurses flurried around her, pulling various things out of the drawers positioned around the station. The patient was young, she could tell by his face. He might be around 16 or 17 years old. His neck was in a brace and his shirt torn off courtesy of the EMT’s, and Sakura could see a distinctive bullet entrance wound under his armpit. He looked to be in severe pain, as his breaths were shallow; his eyes were glassy and blinking slowly.

Sakura began assessing the young boy with her hands, poking around his abdomen and chest, searching for indication of serious injury.

“My name Is Dr. Haruno. You were shot and you’re in the hospital, we’re going to take care of you”. The boy did not react at all to the sound of her voice. His eyes remained fixed upwards, starting at nothing in particular. Chaos ensued around her as the other two shooting victims arrived; various sounds including shouting voices, rolling trays, and beeping machinery filled up the room.

“Re-check his vitals” Sakura commanded to no-one in particular. The nurse that was stationed behind the boy’s head grabbed a small flashlight, waving it back and forth to stimulate a reaction from his pupils. Her eyes widened in surprise as her hand travelled down his neck, checking his pulse from the carotid artery.

“No pupil dilation, shallow pulse.”

“I need an X-ray over here! And get the defib kit ready nearby please.” Sakura ordered. This wasn’t going to be an easy patient to handle. As she continued to bark out directions to the nurses, she noticed Tsunade assessing her from across the room. Her charge didn’t seem to need the same type of care; the nurses were capable of handling most of it.

“Dr. Haruno, he’s—”

“Hey, don’t close your eyes!”

.

.

.

Things had gone relatively well, and while she would have preferred that she didn’t have to restart a patient’s heart twice before major surgery, beggars can’t be choosers. Two resuscitations and one successful surgery later, Sakura’s patient was in stable-ish condition. Tsunade had commended her on her quick thinking, and that had put some wind in the pink-haired doctors sails. She was looking forward to spending the night out with her friends, especially since her superior had promised she would ‘try’ not to call her in the following morning. After showering in the staff locker room, Sakura returned to her office to a slightly irritated blonde.

Ino had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, was about 10 minutes. The truth was that (as always) she had arrived at her destination 30 minutes late. When Ino found that Sakura wasn’t in she was incredibly relieved, for as much as she teased at Sakura for her inability to pick out a decent outfit or do her own hair, Sakura regularly returned the discourse by scolding her for being late for literally everything.

“Why’d you wash your hair!” Ino shouted upon sight of her pink haired best friend.

Sakura huffed. “I got sweaty, alright?”

“That’s what dry shampoo is for, loser. What am I supposed to do with this wet mess now?”

Sakura rolled her eyes at her best friend. Ino was dressed nicely in a short red dress accompanied by a black faux fur jacket and thigh length black boots. A perfect outfit for clubbing in the wintertime. Her platinum blonde hair was very long, and today she had it tied in a high sleek ponytail, complimented by silver hoop earrings and signature flawless makeup.

Sakura walked over to her glass L-shaped desk and peered into the small bag Ino had placed on top of the glass surface. Sakura, ever the pessimist when it came to her best friends’ outfit choices, took the clothing out of the bag to inspect. What she found was a black tight-fit turtleneck shirt, black ripped jeans, a grey leather jacket, and black suede heeled boots. Sakura mentally rejoiced. The last time she had done something like this, Ino had brought her a dress that barely covered her goods.

Eager to get the show on the road, Sakura gestured to her office door.

“I’m just going to change in here. Block the door so nobody comes in” She instructed.

“Maybe some hottie nurse will bust in here and see you naked” Ino teased.

“If you open that door, I’ll strangle you.” Sakura scolded as she began disrobing.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to you, I can’t remember the last time you brought a dude back to the apartment”

Sakura’s cheeks tinged pink as she wiggled into to the pair of black jeans.

“Well, not all of us get to live such an…enriching life” Sakura retorted, layering on the sarcasm. She pulled the turtleneck over her head, flicking back the hair that had gotten trapped in the garment. That was around when Shizune pushed against the office door, unaware that Ino stood on the opposite side. The door thumped on the blonde bombshell’s legs and butt, and she whipped around, peering through the crack.

“Excuse me, hot male nurse?!” she exclaimed dramatically, “There’s a sexy, naked doctor in here waiting for you!”

Sakura, relieved that her office wasn’t really near anything, snapped in a hushed tone, “Ino this is a hospital, not a porno”

“Well clearly, you haven’t seen enough porn” Ino murmured as she pulled the door open for Shizune to enter.

“Have you guys been pregaming in here?” the brunette doctor wondered aloud.

“No, Ino’s just being ridiculous” Sakura deadpanned at her coworker, plopping herself onto her office chair to pull on her suede boots.

It wasn’t long before the three were ready to head out. Ino was nice enough to do her hair and makeup, and it didn’t take as long as Sakura thought. Courtesy of the paper hospital cups and whiskey Sakura kept in her desk, the biting cold of the winter night didn’t feel as severe as it probably was. It was Ino who begged to get a cab; her platform heels were not made for walking long distances. They chatted about everything and nothing at the same time, and Sakura felt the stress of the day fall off of her shoulders. No shitty dates, no sick patients, no intimidating doctor hanging over her shoulders. She needed _this._ She needed _fun._

Sakura perked up as the driver pulled off the main road and they pulled up outside their destination. The outside of the building was covered in weathered brick, and above the large back overhang that shielded the entrance to the club there was a white backlit sign: HEBI. It sure looked like a good time to her, she could hear the music pulsing from inside the cab. 

The three ladies thanked the driver for his service and scooched out from the back of the taxi. Sakura shivered; the effects of the alcohol were wearing off. The line to get into the club wasn’t too long, and she figured it wouldn’t be more than 10 minutes before they were allowed to go inside. Pulling her jacket closer to her body, she moved to get in the back of the line.

“Uh, Sakura? Where are you going?” Ino protested incredulously. Sakura looked back, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion.

“I don’t wait in lines” the blonde stated, swiveling around in a move towards the side of the building.

.

.

.

Sasuke didn’t like it. Not even a little bit. He understood the logic behind meeting Orochimaru at the place of his choice; but _Jesus Christ_ why did it have to be at a _club_? Sasuke was reminded of his fathers’ words… _“I don’t want to see your face on the news tomorrow”_. He pinched the bridge of his nose as his anxiety levels rose a fraction.

Shikamaru had insisted he accept the offer for a meeting, so he was forced to curb his personal feelings and go along with the plan. After all, Shikamaru possessed a sharp intellect and he didn’t advise Sasuke lightly; which was why the Uchiha heir trusted his judgement. Had it been Naruto, well… He didn’t want to think about what disaster might await. Naruto was a fierce friend who was capable of handling the worst kinds of situations, but when it came to being organized and following directions it felt like pulling teeth.

They were just pulling up to the club, Sasuke’s matte black G-Wagon catching some attention from the long line of people standing outside.

“I can’t wait to kick this guy’s ass” Naruto chimed in from the passenger seat of the car.

Shikamaru sighed “For the last time, Naruto, just follow the plan. No ass-kicking”

“One day I’m gonna fuckin’…” Naruto started, trailing off on a string of muttered curses and threats as he slouched and looked out of the tinted windows. “He’s creepy and I hate him. You sure I can’t bring my gun?” Sasuke’s blonde cohort asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Sasuke barked, irritation from the circumstances creating a harsh tone in his voice.

“Alright, princess”.

It was true that Orochimaru was an odd character. He was all pale skin and long black hair, and his entourage, as Naruto had put it, were “a bunch of fuckin’ weirdos”. Like Naruto, Sasuke wasn’t so keen on spending time in his presence. _It is what it is_ , Sasuke mused, ready for this night to be over already. This task was all that stood in between him and precious sleep; it had been over 24 hours since he slept last.

The valet knocked on his window, and Sasuke moved to step out of the car with Naruto and Shikamaru following suit. Despite the lack of sleep, the three looked the part. They had an air of confidence that were complimented by their designer blacks. Sasuke was rather serious looking and was not the person anybody wanted to pick a fight with. Shikamaru was inherently aloof, his brown ponytail and casual posture a testament to his easy-going personality. And then there was Naruto: tan features stretched in a smile as he waved at a group of women who stood in line.

Sasuke turned away from Naruto and Shikamaru, reaching into his pocket as the young valet looked up at him. The boy couldn’t be older than 18, and Sasuke moved to shake the boy’s hand. The young man seemed to be confused until their hands met, and Sasuke gripped the boy’s hand, locking him in place.

“In one hour from now, bring this car around to the front. Leave it running”

the nodded in understanding as Sasuke squeezed his hand, pressing several folded 100-dollar bills into the boy’s palm.

“Exactly an hour” he instructed as he released his bruising grip. The valet scurried away, shoving the generous cash tip into his jeans pocket and clambering into the driver’s seat. As he watched the valet drive away, Sasuke checked the time on his watch.

“Let’s go, then” he muttered to Shikamaru and Naruto as he made his way towards the side of the building. They stood under the black overhang labeled with a red “VIP” as two very large individuals patted them down head to toe, checking for weapons. Sasuke expected them to find nothing, and they didn’t. The two burly bouncers nodded at the group when they were finished their search, a silent permission to enter. Sasuke pulled the door open, loud music and flashing lights overwhelming his senses. _God_ , Sasuke thinks _I hate today._

A young cocktail waitress dressed in almost nothing was waiting for them inside, and upon direction from the bouncer guided them through a small subsection of the much larger room. People were pulsing on the crowded dance floor in front of the DJ; Complete mayhem. The moody Uchiha shot a glare behind him at Shikamaru, who simply shrugged and rolled his eyes. Naruto followed behind Shikamaru and bounced along with the beat of the music in an attempt to be lighthearted.

They were led to a smaller, more exclusive portion of the already private area. The cocktail waitress stopped and gestured towards a set of translucent curtains stained red by the overhead lights. Sasuke could see the outline of several people within the area. _Great_ , he thought, _can I get him alone?_

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and checked his watch. He had less than an hour to figure it out.

Across the club, Sakura was fighting for the attention of the bartenders. Ino had gotten them, somehow, into one of the VIP sections closer to the dance floor. Something about someone’s girl being a regular at her salon; Sakura couldn’t really hear over the music. They weren’t interested in getting bottle service, so she had pushed her way up to the bar.

Standing at the corner of the bar, Sakura waited for her turn to order drinks. Her sobriety was unsettling; nobody had fun at a club unless they were under some kind of influence.

She saw one of the bartenders being to make her way over, but just before Sakura could get her attention, someone cut her off. _For fucking real?_ she thought, frustration pulling her features into a scowl. The bartender thief was a tall guy with spiky blonde hair and based on the sharp angles of his jaw and his smooth skin, he was definitely good looking. He looked like he had money, but maybe it was the tan that made him seem wealthy. His looks may have been the reason behind why the bartender had decided to ignore her. Sakura huffed; the stress of her long day was making her impatient.

Naruto had sensed that he had stolen someone’s spot in the queue, and once his drinks were delivered, he pointed in Sakura’s direction after leaning over the bar to mention something to the bartender. To Sakura, it looked like he was making sure she was taken care of after he had cut her off, which she thought was a very nice thing to do. He smiled in her direction, holding his drink up and matching the smile she had sent his way.

“What can I get you to drink?” The bartender asked her. Sakura had to stand on the balls of her feet and lean over the bar in order to get close enough so the woman could hear her.

“I need three double shots of tequila, and three red bulls please” She half shouted. The bartender smiled and got to work. While she waited, Sakura scanned the crowd. The blonde guy was making his way back to where the VIP sections were. _Maybe we’ll meet again later_ Sakura thought, pride hurt about what Ino had to say about her sex life earlier that evening.

“is that it?”

Sakura whipped around at the sound of the bartender’s voice. “Just this, thanks” she said as she handed over the plastic card she had been holding. The bartender’s eyes flashed between her hand and her face in confusion.

“Oh…That guy from before took care of everything”

Sakura looked at her, perplexed. She felt embarrassed; was her frustration so obvious she made that stranger feel bad? _Oh well_ , Sakura dismissed, _free is free_.

“Well, thanks!” she chirped at the bartender as she gathered the drinks in her hands; it was tricky, but she managed. As she walked back, she noticed the man from the bar make his way to the private rooms. _Maybe he is rich,_ she thought as she approached Ino and Shizune, who were in the process of taking a snapchat.

Sakura set down the drinks and slid into the black leather booth, eager to get this party on the road. She slid the plastic card to Shizune with a smile.

“Some guy bought all our drinks!” She yelled over the music. Ino gave Sakura the ‘my baby is all grown up’ look as she reached for her drink.

“The great Sakura Haruno, scoring free drinks _and_ managing to ditch the dude!” Ino yelled.

Shizune laughed loudly as she reached for her drink, and Sakura laughed too.

“I think he was rich; he went back there” she said as she pointed behind them at the private areas. Ino’s eyes widened as she gave Sakura a playful hit on the shoulder. “You would go for a rich dude” the blonde teased, “Miss New York, miss upper-middle class, here!” Ino shoved a drink into Sakura’s hands, raising her own in the air.

“Cheers!” the three said in unison, clinking their plastic cups together. Sakura set the cup to her lips and tipped her head back as the liquid slid down her throat. It didn’t taste great, but it got the job done. After chasing with her red bull, she felt like a whole new person. The chaos of her surroundings already seemed more pleasing. The DJ began to mix into an upbeat pop song that Ino and Shizune seemed excited about, so Sakura joined them as they hurried towards the dance floor.

The dancing crowd was dense; as much can be expected on a Friday night. They slipped through the middle of the mass, eager to be in the middle of the action. Lights flashed, the beat of the music only got faster, and the three danced for what seemed like forever. Sakura’s body moved to the pulse of music; the energy of the crowd creating an intoxicating buzz that made her surroundings melt away. She lost both Ino and Shizune as time went on and found herself among strangers. This didn’t deter her, and she continued to dance and enjoy herself to her hearts content.

At the end of the DJ’s set, she decided to mosey back to their booth to knock down the rest of her red bull and find a bathroom. Ino had mentioned earlier that the VIP bathrooms were much less crowded, and that all she needed to do was go towards the back and take a left in the hallway.

Sakura, lacking a decent sense of direction, soon found herself lost. There was more than one hallway and zero signs. Too shy to stop and ask someone, Sakura continued walking. _I’ll just follow this person in front of me…_ she thought, mentally cursing when the stranger she had been so inconspicuously tailing pushed her way through white opaque fabric and into a private room.

Irritated with the urgent need to pee, Sakura strode around a corner and bumped hard into something hard— _Someone’s chest!_

Gasping in shock she blurted a quick “Ohmygosh Imsosorry” as she backed up a step or two. The tall man looked equally as surprised, looking down at her with a confused onyx gaze. 

“All good” The man’s voice was deep, with just a touch of huskiness. He had his sleeves rolled up, showing toned forearms laced with tattoos. Strands of black hair fell onto his face, in a kind of messy-but-trying way.

“Oh, who’s this?” Naruto asked, coming up behind Sasuke.

Sakura’s eyes locked onto him, realizing that she had bumped into whatever group the same blonde man from the bar had been with.

“Sasuke, slacking off to talk to chicks!” Naruto yelled a little too loudly, clapping Sasuke on the shoulder in a playful jest. Shyness settled in Sakura’s chest as her eyes flickered between the two men; she hadn’t mentally prepared herself to talk to people of the male variety.

“I-uh, thanks for the drinks earlier” she stuttered out, “That was a kind thing to do”.

His eyes lit up with recognition as a laugh passed through his lips. It was a pleasing and friendly sound that brought a light smile to Sakura’s lips.

“How could I forget, pink hair!” he bellowed as he touched his own blonde locks, “You’re welcome!” Sakura’s face turned into a soft smile as a silent thank you. Sasuke, _scary dude,_ as had Sakura dubbed him in the moment, brushed past her to walk down the hallway.

“We have work to do, Naruto.” he said coldly as he walked by. Sakura watched as Naruto rolled his eyes, dismissing scary dude’s comment. She wasn’t really prepared with anything to say, so she blurted the first thing on her mind.

“I really have to pee. Do you know where the bathroom is?” She asked, regretting asking such a lame question the moment the words passed her lips.

“Oh uhhh…” Naruto said as he looked around for a moment, then pointed behind her.

“It’s back there”

Sakura put her hand on her chest and smiled in a sign of relief and thanks, starting towards where he had indicated. She muttered a quick goodbye and a wave before hurrying down the hallway. She really did have to pee, and she was a little bit embarrassed. _Nice one Sakura_ , she thought to herself. _If Ino was there I’d never hear the end of it…_

Down the hall, Naruto had caught up with Sasuke.

“Are you sure you’ll remember where it is?” Sasuke asked, eyes remaining forwards as they walked.

“Yeah, I’m not that stupid”

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at that, pondering the validity of the statement. Naruto hardly noticed his reaction.

“At _exactly_ 12, don’t forget, or I’m fucked”

“I heard you the last 10 times, dick”

Sasuke hummed in response.

“Go, then” 

“See ya on the other side, bud” Naruto quipped, stopping in the middle of the hallway as Sasuke continued forwards.

The onyx-haired heir checked his watch once more before entering one of the many rooms of the VIP area. The room was just the way it was when he left. Women dressed in barely anything swayed to the music in the center of the cramped room, which had three long red leather couches that sat closely together. On said couches were some of the scummiest individuals Sasuke had ever had the extreme displeasure of meeting. They were all high, he could tell by the way their eyes glassed over and they moved as if they were under water. High on what Sasuke couldn’t tell; he figured that with Orochimaru’s connections it was a “pick your poison” type of deal. Lines of a white powdery substance decorated the mirrored tables, and almost every person had a bottle in their hand. This was definitely not his scene.

“Sasuke, where’d your nice friend go?”

He whipped his head around to the sound of his own name, catching Orochimaru do a line of coke off the mirrored tables. His long black hair pooled around his face as he dipped his head down, one finger on his nose and the other clutching a rolled up hundred-dollar bill.

“He got caught up with a girl”. _Okay,_ Sasuke mused _, not a complete lie._ He thought about the girl that had bumped into him. _Pink hair_.

Orochimaru cackled and his pale features stretched over his high cheekbones, head dipped back over the edge of the couch. Sasuke, unamused, moved past the dancing women to sit near the pale faced snake. His right-hand man, _Kabuto_ , as Shikamaru had reminded him, stood behind him protectively. Kabuto glared at him with suspicion through his glasses, but Sasuke pretended not to notice him. Shikamaru’s words played at the back of his head: _Watch out for the silver haired guy he runs with; he doesn’t look like much, but he can fuck you up fast._

As much as he hated it, he needed to _act_ friendly. Sasuke had been selling this act so far, but now he needed to seal the deal. He shot a knowing look at Shikamaru, who was positioned in the opposite side of the room. He looked as relaxed as ever, nobody was bothering him. _Lazy,_ Sasuke thought, even though Shikamaru had already done most of his job on the front end, planning and such. Now it was time for Sasuke to earn his pay.

“Send them out. Let’s talk business”

A creepy chuckle erupted from Orochimaru’s throat.

“Trying to get me alone, Sasuke?” the pale man wondered aloud, lifting his head up to look at the young Uchiha. “Did daddy send you to teach me a lesson?”

It really was taking everything Sasuke had to not reach out and wring the blood from Orochimaru’s pasty neck. In order to curb his impulse, he reached for the bottle of whiskey sitting on the table. He took an empty glass and poured himself a healthy amount, bringing it to his lips so he could tip his head back and down it in one go.

This seemed to catch Orochimaru’s attention as he was sitting up, eyes locked on Sasuke.

“My father, he’s smart… But he knows nothing about _this_ ” Sasuke prattled, using the back of his thumb to wipe away the moisture on his lips. “About the business _I’m_ running” The young heir relaxed, leaning back on the couch.

“He’s out of touch with our world” Orochimaru agreed, his head rested on the palm of his hand while his elbow rested on his crossed legs.

“He acts like things are the same as they were before my mother died.” Sasuke ranted as he poured more brown liquid into his glass. “But they’re not”.

Orochimaru seemed to feign disinterest then, not completely bought into the direction Sasuke had taken the conversation in.

“You’re doing a bad job of convincing me of anything” Orochimaru responded, eyebrows raising. Orochimaru was inherently paranoid, Sasuke knew he was going to have to try harder.

Sasuke scowled. “I’m not trying to convince you.”

Orochimaru cackled as he uncrossed his legs, assuming a more relaxed position by crossing his arms and slouching back into the leather couch.

“You waste my time, young heir”

Sasuke straightened his posture and furrowed his brows in frustration.

“I’m here. No weapons, no manpower” Sasuke snapped, “and I fucking hate clubs”. Sasuke turned his upper body towards Orochimaru as he talked in an attempt to seem honest.

“By standing up to my men, you were really standing up to him, and I can respect that.” Sasuke continued, “but I’d rather not have an audience.” He brought the glass to his lips as he looked Orochimaru in the eye, “So then, let’s talk.”

Orochimaru gave him a silent but incredulous look, and Sasuke held eye contact as he downed his drink. He resisted the urge to check his watch; Kabuto, who was standing just behind them, watched with unblinking eyes. Sasuke could tell he was way too perceptive, and arousing suspicion was not a road he wanted to go down.

“The _great_ Sasuke Uchiha…” Orochimaru mocked, reaching for a pack of cigarettes that sat on the table, “never comes just to talk.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched him produce a lighter from the pocket of his pants.

“My brother is set to inherit our family’s empire—and my father leaves me behind to clean up the trash. No offense”.

Orochimaru took a long drag of his cigarette and turned his head to blow the smoke into Sasuke’s face. The young heir didn’t flinch, now was not the time to lose his cool. 

“Cleaning up the trash…” Orochimaru pondered. “What does that make you then, young Sasuke?”

“A fool.”

Orochimaru erupted in maniacal laughter, as if what Sasuke had said brough him great enjoyment. He seemed to think for a few moments, “some loyal fool you are.”

Sasuke took a deep breath in, nostrils flaring slightly. He glared at the man who sat next to him, as he was running out of time and things to say.

“If you don’t feel like hearing what I have to say, then stop wasting my time” Sasuke snapped, anger flaring. He raised his voice in show; perhaps then Orochimaru would feel like he was in control.

Orochimaru turned to his silver haired assistant, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Spoiled children, always crying when they don’t get what they want” the pale drug lord teased loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Sasuke’s knew it was just an attempt to make him react, and he scowled harshly and clenched his fist. Surely the snake was coherent enough to sense his change in body language.

“Kabuto tell them…” Orochimaru muttered as he made a shooing motion with his hand. Sasuke could Kabuto hesitate, lips tightening into a thin line.

“I’ll be outside” Kabuto muttered, more of a warning to Sasuke than anything else. A loud whistle erupted from his mouth, effectively catching the attention from everybody in the room.

“Out. Everybody.”

Kabuto’s booming request was met with a few protests which were ignored, but the majority in the room understood that this particular crew was not one they wanted to disagree with. As people began to file out, Sasuke nodded once towards Shikamaru, who only then got up to leave the room as well. He checked his watch. 3 minutes.

  
“Have somewhere to be?” Orochimaru inquired.

“No, just wondering how much of my time you wasted by being undecisive”. 

“Please…People like us must be wary. You should have expected at least that”.

Sasuke didn’t answer. He needed to bide his time. He glanced towards the curtain that separated them from the outside as the last of the people filtered out. Kabuto stood dutifully on the other side ushering people out and every so often, glancing inside. _Pest_ , Sasuke thought.

Shikamaru leaned on the wall adjacent to the curtain looking as if he would rather be anywhere else. Kabuto glanced over, peering at the tall brunette through his eyeglasses.

“You can go now.”

“Nope” Shikamaru mumbled through the cigarette he had placed into his mouth.

“If you think—”

Shikamaru cut him off, “You’re here for your boss, I’m here for mine. Stop looking into it so hard.”

Kabuto didn’t have an answer for that, but rather lifted his jacket aside to show the pistol holstered from a strap wrapped around his shoulder; a silent warning to behave. Shikamaru only wore a neutral expression, wiping away the ash that had fallen onto his sleeve.

Inside the room Sasuke knocked back the rest of the liquor in the glass. “I’m tired of this trash” Sasuke said, glancing to the bottle of whiskey on the table. “I know you have something better”

Orochimaru smiled, pushing against the couch to stand up. “Such expensive taste for an errand boy” Orochimaru muttered as he walked around the couch, moving towards a cabinet that stood in the back of the room.

“With ice” Sasuke demanded. He could hear Orochimaru prepare the drink as he mentally counted the seconds. He stood up to accept the drink from the man, and they stood face to face, the red glow of the room reflecting off their skin. Sasuke looked down at Orochimaru, taking a long sip.

That was when the power went out.

The Uchiha wasted little time, swinging his arm back to smash his glass into the side of Orochimaru’s face. Satisfaction swelled in his chest as the glass collided with the snake’s cheek and shattered upon contact. The burn of the whiskey entered the fresh cuts on Sasuke’s palm, the stinging sensation adding to his adrenaline.

Orochimaru shouted in pain as he fell to the floor and Sasuke lunged at him, slamming his his knee into his back and twisting his arm around into a painful but effective hold.

Sasuke could hear the sound of two individuals struggling against each other through the chaos outside. He needed to finish this, as he figured that Kabuto was armed and Shikamaru could only hold him for so long.

“If I don’t have the rest of what you owe me in my hand by tomorrow, I swear to fucking God I’ll be visiting you in a _very different way_.” Sasuke threatened low and quick as he twisted Orochimaru’s arm farther to make the position as painful as possible. Orochimaru responded with laughter, the blood from his cheek leaking into his nose and mouth.

Sasuke released the hold to stand up, and Orochimaru almost immediately attempted to get on his feet. He was too slow, and the young heir sent a swift kick to the man’s face, his foot landing under his chin. The pale man writhed in pain, and Sasuke grimaced in disgust at the sight. He really did hate this motherfucker.

In the absolute darkness the club was erupting in screams and protests. Sakura had been making her way back from the bathroom when the power went out, and she gasped in shock at the suddenness of the outage. The feeling of anxiety filled her chest, it was impossible to see despite several quick-thinking individuals using the flash from their phones to provide light.

Deciding to do the same, she patted the pockets of her jeans to find her phone but found only empty pockets. Emitting a loud groan, Sakura realized she must have left it in the bathroom stall. _So fucking stupid_ , she thought. If she had any hope of getting home or at least finding Shizune and Ino, she’d have to make the trek back to the ladies’ room through the chaotic darkness.

As she turned around with her hands in front of her, she listened for any sign of danger that might await her in the dark. She could hear the sounds of people shouting all over as she walked, trying to find their way through the area. Even the emergency lights weren’t on; whatever had happened had cut the power completely. Once she reached the hallway, she could tell were less people around her, but there were other stranger sounds coming from the space.

As her hands found the wall, Sakura thought she might have heard the sound of a fight. She listened harder, hearing bodies thump against the ground as voices yelled an incoherent string of insults and curses; _yup_ , Sakura confirmed, it definitely was a fight. _Well_ , _I’d better avoid that_ , she thought, _no use in getting in the middle of_ _it_.

Continuing to follow the wall that lead her towards the bathroom, Sakura began to hear a set of very distinct footsteps. They were heavy and purposeful, and they were heading right towards her. She could feel the air rush by as the person ran full speed past her; no doubt an attempt to break up that fight.

“Get off him!” A mans voiced boomed from the chaotic darkness.

A bright flash and a deafening bang ripped through the area, causing several people including Sakura to scream and duck, hands flying over their head. The sound felt so close she could feel it in her teeth, and it left behind a terrible ringing noise that had settled in her brain. _A gunshot_ , her brain identified. Chaos had erupted again within the building, panic filling the air. _Just what the fuck is happening?!_ The pink haired doctor panicked, unsure of what to do next. Her mind raced.

_Someone could be hurt. It could have been you. They could be dying right now. You can save them._

Her medical instincts began to kick in, and the noise of the panic filtered out as Sakura began to crawl towards the source of the gunshot. As she moved closer, she could hear the sound of her own breath and heartbeat, nothing else.

“Is someone hurt?!” she yelled through the darkness. Fear fading from the absence of more gunshots, she felt brave enough to stand up. A few people running away bumped into her, but she continued towards the source of the sound.

Her progress through the darkness came to an abrupt end when she bumped into somebody who was standing tall in the middle of the hallway. She stumbled back, and without warning the person had collapsed to the ground.

Sakura gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide with the realization that despite the darkness, she could see that this person was the blonde from earlier, and he was most definitely not okay. She could just make out his face twisted up in pain; hands balling up near his lower stomach. 

“Agh! It burns” he groaned, blood beginning to soak the bottom of his shirt.

Sakura dropped to her knees, trying to gather herself. “My name Is Dr. Haruno. you were shot and you’re—uh—where does it hurt?” Sakura asked, fingers roaming along his torso to find the location of the bullet wound. Her fingers found wetness towards his lower abdomen, and her hands brushed over a hole through his shirt.

“I’m going to need to pull your shirt up, okay?” she asked in a clear voice, and Naruto was in no shape to respond, groaning and sweating already from the pain. He was breathing short and fast, and his fists clenched and unclenched, and Sakura was already zoned in, the chaos around her melting from her senses as she did her best to provide aid. Her warm fingers tugged his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants, and she saw the wound without having to search.

Unable to find anything in the vicinity to stop the bleeding, Sakura wrapped the bottom of his shirt around her hand and pushed down on the wound in his abdomen.

Naruto groaned at the new pain, and one thing was obvious to Sakura: she would need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible. Lower abdomen bullet wounds were no walk in the park, and she could only do so much in the pitch blackness of the club. She prayed it had just ripped through muscle. _My fucking phone_ she thought, _it’s still in the bathroom!_

“I’m sorry, I’m going to need to use your cell”.

No time to feel shy, Sakura patted his pockets with her free hand, finding a rectangular device stored in his front pocket. She gently pulled it out and turned it on—using the emergency call function to call 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi yes, I’m here at club Hebi on 13th street. Someone is hurt and we need an ambulance immed—”

Sakura felt the phone ripped from her hand, and she flinched at the suddenness of the contact, wondering just who would—

“What are you doing?” a deep voice asked. Sakura looked up, finding two men standing over her with guarded looks on their faces.

Anger swelled in Sakura’s chest as she reached up for the phone with a bloody hand.

“Give that _back to me_! He’s going to _die_ without an ambulance!”

A look passed between the two men—Sakura had recognized at least one from before. The one with the black hair and fair complexation nodded at the other man, whose hair was brown and tied up into a neat ponytail at the back of his head.

“Naruto, are you dying?” Sasuke asked, eyes shifting downwards. The girl’s hands were positioned over his abdomen, pushing down firmly over the bloody mess.

Naruto responded by groaning in pain, straining something along the lines of “thatmo’fuckagotme”. Shikamaru was already walking away to make a call, and Sasuke had crouched down to assess the damage. His eyes flashed to the girl, and she met his gaze with a bewildered look. Sakura couldn’t believe his calm demeanor—as if this sort of thing happened all the time!

“You know first aid?”

Sakura nodded and huffed at the question—Sasuke’s dark eyes piercing through hers.

“I’m an emergency care doctor”

“Lucky us” Sasuke said, dropping down on one knee. “We need to leave now. You’ll have to do this on the move.”

Sasuke began to pull Naruto into a sitting position and the blonde cursed in pain as his torso was shifted. Sasuke froze when he felt a soft hand grip his forearm. He glanced at the girl. In another situation he may have thought she was pretty—but her stubbornness was getting on his nerves.

“If you move him it will make his condition worse. Best he stays here to wait for an ambulance”.

“No” Sasuke answered, brushing her off.

“No?” Sakura challenged as Sasuke pulled Naruto’s arm around his shoulders, preparing to stand up with the almost dead weight.

“Listen to me!” Sakura pleaded, “I see these things every day and—”

“Sorry” Sasuke strained as he stood up, cutting her off. “He doesn’t have health insurance”.

Sakura snaked her hand behind Naruto’s lower back to be able to maintain pressure on the bullet wound as they began to move through the darkness, sporting a baffled expression as they moved. Naruto’s head was hanging low, and it was clear that he was having some trouble walking in his dazed state.

_Such a ridiculous excuse!_ Sakura thought, mind reeling.

“This isn’t—you can’t—” Sakura stuttered, frustrated that her advice was being overlooked by some tall dark stranger. “Stop or I’ll—”

“You’ll do nothing” Sasuke snapped in a threatening voice, interrupting her. His head whipped around then, and they stopped moving.

“Help us, or don’t. It’s your choice”.

Sakura flinched at the tone of his voice, and the reality of the situation began to set in as the adrenaline in her bloodstream faded. This Naruto person had been shot in an act of violence and would die without medical care, and this rude scary looking dude refused to call an ambulance. Sakura hoped that wherever they were headed, that it would be close by. 

Towards the end of the hallway, Sakura stumbled over something. Not something, but rather _someone._ She could see the outline of a body, unmoving, through the darkness. Silver hair caught her eye, and she could tell his face was bloodied.

“Is he okay?” Sakura asked.

“He’s fine”. Sasuke snapped quickly

Sakura said nothing, not wanting to elicit another snippy response from the raven-haired man. It was becoming clear that walking was becoming difficult for Naruto, as Sakura and Sasuke were almost completely supporting his weight as he stumbled along. They finally made it to a door and Sasuke pushed forwards with force, losing his balance and causing Naruto to tilt backwards as his knees buckled. Sakura gasped and Sasuke readjusted his grip with a grunt, fingers finding the soft skin of Sakura’s arm. His hand was large, and his grip was electrifying; his hand held securely around her forearm. Sakura suddenly felt out of breath.

The chill of the winter night shocked their faces as they stepped outside, and Sasuke was very much relieved to see his G-wagon idling in the alleyway, hazard lights pulsing. Shikamaru flicked his cigarette into the distance at the sight of the three, shuffling over to help as Sakura and Sasuke practically dragged Naruto into the back seat.

The pink haired doctor slid into the back of the luxury SUV without hesitation, eager to continue providing aid. She had to sit awkwardly to accommodate the blonde’s sprawling form as he was laid across the seats. She kneeled with one leg on the seat and half stood on the other, both hands pushing on Naruto’s bloody abdomen.

Sasuke closed the door behind the pair once he was sure the doctor was settled and took long strides around to the other side of the vehicle, pulling open the driver’s side door to slide in. The car was already running, and he hit the gas as soon as Shikamaru moseyed into the passenger’s side seat. The engine roared to life as he pulled out onto the main road.

Sasuke weaved in and out of traffic, eliciting a few middle fingers and lots of honking horns. The light of the city street was much brighter in comparison to the inside of the club, and his eyes blinked and he felt like he could _finally fucking see_. He scowled as red light glowed across his face, a sea of brake lights awaited ahead. Sakura gasped as she jerked forwards, the result of a sharp turn that took them onto a small side street. The sudden movement caused Naruto to groan, and Sakura reached to steady his upper body by bracing his shoulder. 

“Are you breathing okay?” Sakura asked in a low voice.

“Fine” Naruto choked out, blinking through the dizziness caused by blood loss. The red liquid had seeped all the way through the fabric wrapped around Sakura’s hand, and the blonde’s vision blurred at the sight as his eyelids drooped.

Sakura pressed harder onto the wound and squeezed his shoulder with force, and Naruto’s eyes shot open as he took in a sharp intake of air.

“Don’t pass out” Sakura instructed, green eyes meeting blue as gave him an encouraging smile, “You’ll be okay if you stay awake”. Naruto let out an exasperated breath, head dropping back as he struggled to focus his eyes on the upholstered headliner of the car.

Sasuke’s eyes flickered to his rear-view mirror at the sound of hushed voices, pink hair catching his attention. She wasn’t what he imagined a doctor would look like. She was feminine, and although she had a delicate frame, he could tell she was strong. After all, she had helped him carry the idiot through the hallway and into the car. Her lithe body swayed with the movement of the car, and he could see the concern in her green eyes as the streetlights danced across her face. His eyes lingered a little too long in the mirror, and he swerved slightly out of the way of a beeping car.

“Doc wasn’t happy” Shikamaru warned as the car jerked, breaking Sasuke from his thoughts.

Sasuke shot a tired glare towards Shikamaru, who raised both his hands in defense at the scathing glance. The radio played on a low volume as Sasuke drove, the sound of the soft music unfitting in such a tense atmosphere. A strong hand raked itself through onyx hair; they were almost there. Just a few more blocks and then a —

“Are we almost there?” Sakura snapped, concern growing as time passed.

_Alright_ , Sasuke mused as he exhaled through his nose, _she’s kind of annoying_.

“Yes” Sasuke answered, deciding to humor her.

Gripping the steering wheel tight, Sasuke made a sharp left turn onto a residential street lined with townhomes. He came to a screeching halt, foot slamming on the brakes as he threw the gear into park. They had arrived in front of a line of red brick townhomes, one of which had large windows that glowed with a soft light. “Let her know we’re here” Sasuke snapped at Shikamaru, who groaned and opened the car door to clamber out onto the street. 

“A house?” Sakura mumbled to herself. Were they seriously making a house call on a doctor? _No way…_ Sakura thought, _this injury is way past house call caliber_... _Even if they were rich_ … _No fucking way._

Ignoring her question, Sasuke threw open the car door and stepped out. Sakura whipped around at the sound of the car door opening. Sasuke stood with his hand extended, ready to help her out of the cramped space. She placed her bloody hand on his, surprised at the warmth of his skin. Sasuke’s eyes lingered on her hand for a moment before she hopped out of the car, and Sakura was thankful for the blanket of darkness which hid her faint blush.

Eventually they were able to pull an almost unconscious Naruto from the back seat, and despite the winter air Sakura could feel sweat form on her hairline.

“Almost there” Sasuke huffed as they dragged the blonde across the street and up the small brick staircase to the front of the townhome. Sakura was watching her feet carefully, trying not to trip over the short brick steps. Shikamaru was ringing the doorbell over and over, and as soon as Sasuke and Sakura reached the last step, the door swung open.

Light flooded the front step of the townhome, and Shikamaru quickly stepped past the form that stood in the doorway. Strong legs, small waist, large bosom, blonde hair—

Sakura’s eyes went wide in recognition, and she blinked several times as a bead of sweat dripped down from her temple to her chin.

“Tsunade?”

.

.

.

A\N

Sorry if the formatting is a little freaky-deaky. Not used to AO3 yet!


	2. After Hours

**_After Hours_ **

Sakura didn’t even know what to say as she entered the warmth of the superior doctor’s house. _Luxury house,_ she noted in the back of her mind; whoever was paying Tsunade was paying her _well._ It was an honest shame that this stranger was bleeding over her neat entryway.

Tsunade had been as surprised as she was, at least that’s what Sakura had gathered from the expression on her face as she opened the door. The blonde doctor’s honey eyes flashed from surprise, to concern, and then eventually anger. Not towards her, but towards the tall dark stranger that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

She had rushed them towards what seemed like a guest bedroom on the first floor, yet as they entered the room Sakura could see that it was some kind of in-home medical suite. There were a few medical storage cabinets filled with supplies, and Tsunade was in the process of pulling a surgical light out of the closet located on the far wall. _What. The. Fuck._ Sakura mouthed to herself. She wouldn’t be surprised if she woke up right now and found that this was all just a fever dream.

“Put him there” the blonde doctor motioned towards the bed as she yanked the cord connected to the light, plugging it into the wall and illuminating the room. Sasuke and Sakura obeyed, laying Naruto down on the top of the comforter. Sakura manipulated herself along the side of the bed, still pressing on his wound with her hand after all this time. While using the bottom half of his T-shirt had been practical for their short drive, blood was now flowing freely through her fingers. She was able to see gauze in one of the medical cabinets just across from them. Sasuke looked up as he felt her fingers tap his forearm; her green eyes were focused on something behind him. Saskue

“What happened?” Tsunade asked, back turned as she busied herself with finding miscellaneous tools around the room

“Well, he got shot” Sasuke said. He was mindful not to divulge too much information as he pulled open the cabinet, grabbing a fist full of gauze.

“Obviously” Tsunade seethed with an edge in her voice; instruments clanked as she dropped them on a stainless-steel tray, moving too quick to place them with care.

Sakura was quick to take the gauze from him once he had stepped back towards the bed. She bunched the gaze with quick motions and pressed it hard on Naruto’s abdomen, stopping the blood flow.

“Leave so I can clean up your mess” the blonde doctor snapped as she walked over to the bed with both a tray of instruments and a vital signs monitor in tow.

Sasuke only nodded and moved to walk out of the room, and Sakura, not knowing what to do at this point, glanced at the doorway.

“Not you, Sakura” Tsunade drawled, as if stating the obvious. “Wash your hands and put some gloves on.”

“Where—”

“The bathroom is over there. You’ll find gloves in the cabinet”

Sasuke closed the door as he stepped out of the room, dragging a stressed hand through his black locks. He knew that Naruto was in capable hands; he paid the doctor well enough to be prepared for this sort of situation. Tsunade had saved them from trouble many times; and how strange it was that they had found _Sakura_ at the club. _Though, she kind of found us,_ he thought to himself.

He sulked as he walked down the hallway; shoulders hunched over in exhaustion and anxiety. He considered Naruto to be his most loyal friend, and no matter how tough he claimed to be getting shot really fucking _hurts_. Although the younger doctor had insisted otherwise, he knew that this was best case scenario. An ambulance would have taken twice as long, and Naruto could have bled out. Although he had cursed it in the beginning, Sasuke was grateful that Orochimaru had chosen that club. The situation may have taken a grim turn had the trio turned up at any other place in New York that night.

Sasuke glided into Tsunade’s living room, looking for any surface he could lay horizontally on. Even the floor looked like a decent option at this point. Lucky for him, Tsunade had two loveseats in her living room separated by a dark polished coffee table. Shikamaru was stretched across one loveseat, and he lifted his hand from his eyes to glance at Sasuke.

“I think they know each other.” Sasuke stated as he plopped down on the opposite couch, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands.

“All doctors know each other.” Shikamaru remarked, exhausted and adjusting himself as he failed to get comfortable.

“is that true?”

“I don’t know, man. I just want to sleep.” Shikamaru said as he turned over, facing his back to Sasuke. 

_Sleep. sounds good_. Sasuke thought as the weariness seeped into his eyelids. The adrenaline of the night was finally fading from his bloodstream. He could almost hear his body rejoice as he laid down on the sofa and he let out a sigh as he rested his forearm across his eyes to block out the light. It had been a long two days.

Just a few rooms down, Tsunade and Sakura got to work. The senior doctor of course had Naruto’s blood type on hand, and many wires and IV’s dangled around them as they worked. Sakura, for the thousandth time that night, couldn’t believe her eyes. The bullet had shot almost clean through his side and had just stopped short of his kidneys. Minus the bleeding, the injury didn’t involve any vital organs. After few small incisions and some digging, they were able to find the bullet and get out most of the fragments. Stitching him back together took a while, but it was easier with the two of them.

As they neared the end of the procedure, Sakura realized they hadn’t spoken yet about the circumstances surrounding their impromptu surgery. Tsunade just had spent the last few hours ordering her around, and both of them were focused on the task at hand. However, all was quiet now and the only sound was the consistent beeping of the vitals monitor.

“How did you wind up in this mess?” Tsunade finally asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know—it just happened, I heard the shot and saw he was hurt and I knew I had to help, so—”

“Well, you’ve certainly made an impression.”

Sakura stopped what she was doing then, looking up at her mentor in confusion.

“On who, exactly?” She asked.

“Mis-ter U-chi-ha” Tsunade mocked, over-exaggerating each syllable. She laughed softly to herself, and Sakura felt like she was missing out on some kind of inside joke—

The dots connected in Sakura’s head then, and her eyebrows raised as she focused suddenly on her hands. It made sense now, the VIP section, the G-Wagon, and Tsunade’s West Village townhome.

“Like…the airline company?” She asked, just making sure she was getting this right. Sakura vaguely remembered the article she had breezed past earlier this morning. _Despite the youngest sons most recent legal troubles…_

Tsunade chuckled breathily. “Yeah, like the airline company.”  
Sakura grimaced in confusion as more questions popped into her mind. 

“Oh. What was he doing there anyway? And why would somebody want to hurt his friend?”

Sakura asked, questions flowing as she glanced at Naruto’s sleeping face. Tsunade began stitching the last of the wound, needle and black thread piercing through tan skin in a consistent rhythm.

“People with that much money have enemies I guess.” Tsunade sighed, being purposely ambiguous was never her strong point.

“Then why did…” Sakura paused, suddenly realizing he didn’t know his first name, “Mr. Uchiha say they had no health insurance?”

Tsunade’s eye’s widened and her head tipped back as she let out a roaring laugh. “No health insurance!” she guffawed, “is that what he told you?”

Sakura only nodded, failing to see the humor in the situation. She watched as Tsunade’s laugher died down to a light smile on her face, a light gleam in her eyes.

“Hospitals create records. Records aren’t good for someone who always has poking around in their shit.”

“Oh” Sakura breathed, not wanting to admit her confusion. Who was poking around in whose shit? Was she supposed to get it? For a person who was typically so direct, the way Tsunade danced around the subject only served to confuse Sakura further.

Questions rattled around the pink haired doctor’s head as she decided to busy herself with cleaning up. They were nearing the end of the procedure and Sakura wanted to leave the suturing to the more experienced doctor. 

Silence fell upon the room now, the methodical beeping of the heart monitor feeling a little out of place. The ground was littered with bloody gauze and the blonde’s ripped clothes, which Tsunade and Sakura had to cut off of him. _Such a shame_ , she thought. As she was cutting his clothes off before starting surgery, she could feel the luxury of the fabric beneath her fingers. Now, he was only covered with a white sheet for the purpose of modesty. She watched his breathing; his chest rose and fell in a consistently rhythm. _So lucky…_

The blonde doctor sighed, the clank of the instruments hitting the table echoing throughout the room. Sakura watched as she ripped her gloves off and began to disconnect some IV’s.

“I’m taking him off the sedative. He should be waking up soon.” Tsunade stated, and Sakura nodded.

“This has all been very confusing” Sakura admitted, finally mustering up the courage to confront her mentor.

“Probably best to stay confused.” Tsunade sighed in irritation then, turning around to look Sakura in the eyes. “Don’t get involved. It’s a messy situation.” She warned, expression serious. 

“Okay” Sakura said, nodding. _Whatever that means…_ “Speaking of messy, I’m going to take a shower.” Tsunade grimaced as she removed her blood-stained white coat, everything was covered. Sakura looked down at her clothing; her outfit was totally ruined.

“Do me a favor and clean up” Tsunade said as she walked towards the door, bloodied coat resting on her arm. “And feel free to use the shower in the guest bathroom, Sakura. There are fresh towels and some scrubs in the cabinet. They might not fit, but they’re better than what you have now.” Sakura stared indignantly at the doorway after Tsunade had rushed out of the room, eager to leave her with the burden of cleaning up.

Finding the trash bin at the corner of the room, Sakura began to throw away the gauze, bandages, and anything else that was disposable. She felt slightly bad for Tsunade, her guest bedroom was completely trashed. The bed was definitely headed for the dumpster; the comforter was covered in blood that had no doubt soaked through to the mattress.

As she continued her mindless task of tidying up, the events of the night began spinning in her head. It felt fuzzy now. The adrenaline had helped her perform in the moment, but recalling specific memories or images was proving difficult. What she did remember was Mr. U-chi-ha, as her mentor had put it. Who was he, and why was he involved in such illicit activities? She had known a few “trust fund babies” in her time in medical school. They spent their time wasting their parent’s money on parties and slacking off on their schoolwork, not dragging their bloodied friends out of night clubs and endangering their lives by driving them to a _doctor’s house._

Sakura rolled her eyes as she grabbed the steel tray Tsunade had left by the bed and brought it into the bathroom. As the put the tray down on the sink to begin the process of washing, she heard the bedroom door open. She peered around the door, _had_ _Tsunade returned so soon?_

Sasuke had stepped into the room having only slept for a few hours. His hair was a casual jumble, still messed from his most recent REM cycle. Sakura stepped from the bathroom then, making sure to make some noise as to not startle him. Sensing another presence in the room, he looked over at her. Sakura’s heart beat a little faster at the sight of his evaluative gaze.

“Where is Dr. Senju?” He asked then, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“She left to take a shower.” Sakura stated, “I’m just cleaning up.”

“And… Everything is…?” He really looked at her then, eyes piercing and serious, eager for her to answer.

Sakura, forgetting how to talk to humans of the male variety again, only raised her eyebrows and took a deep inhale in response.

“Oh, yes. Everything is fine.” She assured him after a beat, “He just needs time to recover, obviously. He just went through a major surgery and lost a lot of blood. He’s really lucky, though.”

She could see him relax then as he sighed and closed his eyes, running a hand through his messy black hair. Her heart started beating a little faster. _Keep it together_ , she reminded herself, _this guy is obviously bad news_.

“When will he be awake?” Sasuke asked, returning to his aloof disposition.

“Not for a bit,” she mused, “Perhaps in the next hour or so.”

He nodded and went silent then, retreating into his thoughts. Now that he could see for himself that the danger had passed, and the fog had cleared from his mind from his nap, he began thinking about the possible consequences of what occurred this night. Kabuto wasn’t going to bother them again; they had kicked his shit in and left him on the floor of the club to choke on his own blood like he deserved. Orochimaru had 24 hours to deliver on his demands before he would have to pay him another visit. His father and brother were expecting to hear from him… But what would he say?

The only other things that could cause an issue were possible witnesses (which he doubted there were) and _this girl_. She had helped him save his best friends’ life, _but what will she do now?_ _Will she go to the police? Did anyone see her? Will she tell her friends...Who has she told already?_

Sasuke’s new goal was to ensure that none of those situations could be possibilities.

“Thank you” He started, turning towards her. “For helping take care of him. He is very important to me.”

Sakura raised her eyebrows in surprise, this was the first time he had said more than a few words to her. “You’re welcome” She said, a light smile gracing her lips. “I could never turn away from someone who needs help…If I knew I could make a difference.”

“You’re a good doctor” He said, turning his full attention to her. He tilted his head down then stepped just a half an inch closer, and Sakura’s heart nearly stopped. He looked straight out one of those Gucci advertisements from the magazines Ino always had laying around the apartment. Dark strands his hair fell into his eyes in a messy-but-trying way. Thick tattoos wound up his arms, disappearing under the fabric of his black t-shirt which stretched across his well-built torso.

 _You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he attempted to emulate a somewhat pleasant human being.

“I need to know something though,” He started again, snapping Sakura from her thoughts. “For personal reasons.”

That made Sakura’s left eyebrow raise slightly in questioning. _a cute quirk_ , Sasuke thought to himself before he could stop the musing from entering the front of his mind.

“Were you with anybody tonight? Anybody that knows where you are right now?”

Sakura’s eyes widened and she breathed in, chest tightening as she suddenly remembered, _Shizue and Ino!_ She brought her palm up to her face in distress as she peeked up at him. She needed to call Ino immediately.

“I was with friends” She said, crossing her arms in front of her. “But I lost my phone, and then the lights went out, and I wasn’t able to find them. Can I please use your phone?” She said, holding out her palm in a quick motion.

Sasuke nodded at her, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his device. He unlocked it and pulled up the phone app but paused before handing it over.

“Are they looking for you?”

“I don’t know, probably?” Sakura asked in irritation, eyes glancing towards his phone.

“Would there be anybody else they could have contacted? Your parents, or your boyfriend? Husband?”

“Is there a reason you need to be knowing all of this?” She said, blushing and reaching for his phone. He pulled it back from her reach and her eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion.

“Please,” he said, urging her with a serious look. “I need to know.”

“No.” Sakura admitted “I only live with my friend who was at the club with me.”

Sasuke placed the device in her hand, squeezing it so she couldn’t take it away just yet.

“Tell her you’re safe, that you’re here with Dr. Senju, and that you’ll be home soon. Just that.” He ordered firmly, releasing the phone into her grip “Please and thank you.” _Honey._

Sakura narrowed her eyes, still jaded from the line of questioning she had to go through just to be able to use his phone. Her fingers dialed quickly as she stepped away from him, but he followed, eager to oversee the conversation.

 _“Hello?”_ a familiar voice came through the phone.

“Ino!” Sakura said a little too loudly, “It’s Sakura.”

“ _Sakura!”_ Ino screeched, almost in disbelief. _“Where are you?! What happened?!”_

Sakura had to pull the phone away from her ear, afraid that Ino’s high pitched screaming would damage her hearing.

“I’m fine, Ino. I’m at Tsunade’s house”

_“How on earth did you get there? What happened?”_

Sakura sighed, not sure of what to say.

“I lost my phone in the bathroom, and then lights went out—” Sakura stopped as Sasuke flashed her a look, a warning not to divulge too much information.

“It’s a long story…”

“ _We were looking for you! Why didn’t you call earlier? It’s been hours.”_

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose; she was never good at lying or keeping the truth from others.

“I’ll just have to tell you when I get home. I’ll be there soon, promise.”

 _“You’re acting so weird._ This _is so weird.”_

“It’s not, Ino.” Sakura said, “I’m just tired. I’ll be home soon, okay?”

_“I’ll wait up then”_

“Okay, mom” Sakura said, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

_“Seriously Sak, you scared us. We thought you were dead! Or kidnapped! Or hurt!”_

“Well, clearly I’m not dead or any of those other things. I’ll see you when I get home, okay?”

_“Okay…”_

“Oh, wait one more thing. Can you leave the doors unlocked? I lost my keys.”

_“Oh Jesus, Sakura. Okay.”_

“Thanks. See you soon” Sakura said as she pulled the phone away from her face, pressing the end call button.

Sakura moved to turn around, but he was already there to pluck the phone from her fingers. Her eyebrows furrowed at the absence of weight, digits curling into a loose fist.

“Do you have a change of clothes?” He asked her as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Although she was wearing black clothing, he could see the dark brown stains of dried blood all over her shirt and pants.

Sakura glanced back towards the bathroom, nodding.

“Yes, Tsunade is lending me some of her scrubs.”

“Good. We can leave as soon as you’re ready.”

“We?” She asked, head whipping around to look at him. Her voice was breathy with disbelief. “Please don’t go out of your way, I don’t mind calling a cab.”

“No need” Sasuke insisted, “Your roommate sounded worried. You should get home as soon as possible.”

Sakura couldn’t argue with that logic. It _would_ be faster to just get in his car and drive to her apartment rather than waiting for a cab or taking the subway.

“I suppose so, if you truly don’t mind.”

“I don’t” he said a little too quickly, as if he anticipated her hesitation. “And,” he added, “I still have some more questions for you… If _you_ don’t mind.”

Sakura was beginning to get frustrated. She was tired, hungry, and her body was beginning to get sore from not being able to sit for many hours. Being bossed around by this random dude was, despite his good looks and efforts to be charming, getting on her nerves.

“Sure” she said, her inner frustration leaking into reality through the harsh tone in her voice. Sasuke was used to dealing with people who are often times less than happy with him. However, he felt a twinge of guilt at hearing the edge in her tone. She was truly an innocent bystander in all of this, simply caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“I’m sorry” he said before he could stop himself, “This probably isn’t the way you planned your night to go.”

“Definitely not what I had in mind, but I’m glad everyone is okay.” 

Sasuke nodded in agreement, guilt still lingering in his chest. He found himself hoping to make it up to her somehow.

.

.

.

It wasn’t difficult for Sakura to see that Tsunade was less than pleased to hear that Sasuke decided to drive her home. The way her eyebrows drew together and her eyes glared when Sasuke had mentioned it set off alarm bells in Sakura’s head. Her reaction had made Sakura regret her decision. She had hoped that Tsunade would say something, but she didn’t and now Sakura found herself, many hours after their arrival, stepping out of Tsunade’s house into the cold.

Eager to get into the vehicle, Sakura began moving double time. The scrubs Tsunade had lent her had short sleeves, and the winter cold crept along her upper arms and she shivered. Sasuke trailed behind her, watching as she shuffled down the pathway and across the street to his car. He would have offered her his jacket, but he was afraid that by the time he mentioned it she’d already be in the car. He barely had time to open the door for her before she climbed in, and he was quick to turn on the heat as soon as he turned the key in his ignition.

“So” he started, flicking the thermostat up to the highest setting, “Where exactly are we headed?”

“Bergen street in Brooklyn. Here,” she said, putting her palm out, “I can pull up the directions on your phone.” 

Sasuke nodded, handing over his phone. _This is dangerous_ he thought as he watched her thumbs type across his screen. Maybe he had misjudged her. Did she really know exactly who it was she was giving her address to?

He scanned the route on his screen once she had handed it back and was thankful that the drive was only about 45 minutes. It was early in the hours of the morning and the rush hour traffic was light. It wasn’t long until they were on the road and Sakura was watching the reflection of Tsunade’s town home disappear in the side mirror.

“So, how long have you lived here?” Sasuke asked, eager to break the silence between them.

“Here, like in the city?” Sakura replied.

“You’re from out of state then?”

“No, not out of state. I was born upstate, but we only lived there during the school year. I spent the summers in the city…”

As enchanting as it was to watch her talk, Sasuke just couldn’t get one thing out of his mind. _During the school year_ he repeated in his head; Either she had spent time with a relative, or her parents had deep pockets and owned a property both upstate and in the city.

“Eventually I just moved here.” Sakura finished.

“You went to school up North then?”

“Uh-huh.” Sakura said as a wave of exhaustion hit her and she yawned again, covering her mouth politely with her hand. “Ugh, need to stay awake” She mumbled to herself through the yawn. She took a deep breath and then sighed, pressing her cold fingers to her cheeks in the hopes it would wake her up.

As they drove along the highway, the streetlights streaked across her face. He watched as a beam of light moved from her chin, across her smooth lips, and then illuminated her stunning eyes. Sensing she was being watched, her gaze flickered to his and Sasuke decided to focus on the road then, finding the white lines that dotted the road suddenly interesting.

“School was boring, then?” Sasuke said, trying to keep the line of questioning going; he was eager to figure her out.

Sakura laughed, and Sasuke looked at her again with confusion in his features.

“I went to an all-girls boarding school. Private. Things were never boring.”

“Ah” Sasuke said, nodding in understanding. He knew exactly what it was like to attend a same sex private boarding school.

 _2 properties, 12 year of an expensive boarding school upstate, and more than 8 years of college,_ Sasuke recounted to himself, grip tightening on the steering wheel. _Expensive._

Rich parents meant good lawyers. Good lawyers were _always_ bad news. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

“And your parents? Are they important?”

“Important? To me?”

Sakura chose that moment to be suddenly irritated at his line of questioning, clicking her tongue in irritation at yet another question.

“This doesn’t really seem very fair” Sakura said. Sasuke’s eyes flashed towards her, sensing he had hit a nerve. “I’ve done nothing but answer your questions about my life, for whatever reason—yet I don’t even know your first name” she admitted, words flowing out of her mouth fast and sharp.

And for the second time that night this woman had made Sasuke feel bad. It wasn’t often that he dealt with people who were actually decent human beings. _Perhaps I should rethink my strategy here_ , he thought to himself.

“I apologize, again.” He started after a beat of silence, “I’ve barely slept in over 48 hours. I’m not usually this much of a dick.”

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha” he continued, not giving her a chance to react to his turn in mood. Taking his right hand off the steering wheel to extend it towards her, he fixed his gaze on hers.

“Sakura Haruno” she replied out of habit as she shook his hand. His grip was strong, and despite many mood swings, he also seemed to be genuine in his intentions. Sakura felt herself missing the warmth of his skin as his grip loosened and she pulled her hand away. His gaze returned to watching the road.

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Haruno.”

“Oh please,” Sakura breathed as she put her hand up for emphasis, “Just Sakura is fine!” It’s true that medical school was hard, and she was proud of her honorific, but it was too formal for most situations. She often found herself feeling sheepish when those outside of the hospital referred to her as doctor.

“Sakura” Sasuke tested as he nodded. There was something funny about the way he felt as her name fell out of his mouth. _I need to go to sleep,_ he thought.

“Sasuke Uchiha” Sakura replied, “Like the…”

“Airline company, yes.”

It sounded like he had heard that same question all too many times. Sensing the apathy and his tone, Sakura gave him a curious look.

“Is that situation difficult for you?”

“I guess it gets me into trouble sometimes.”

It began raining then and it wasn’t long before the rain turned to sleet, the frigidness of the air turning the rain into a slushy mess. Thick frozen raindrops plunked on the windshield and Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, vaguely remembering the weather report he had watched the day before. _And to think I thought I’d be sleeping before the bad weather started_ Sasuke groaned inside his head. Just another reminder that things would have been a lot less difficult if everything had gone according to plan.

“Oh, this weather is just the worst” Sakura complained. She felt a chill along her arms at the thought of having to go outside again, even if it was for a short amount of time. She leaned forwards into the heat blowing out of the vents off the dash and rubbed her arms with her hands, trying to absorb as much heat into her skin as possible. 

“You can wear my jacket. I don’t mind.”

Sakura, not one to turn down the opportunity for extra warmth, accepted his offer. Sasuke shrugged out of his black parka, which proved to be an awkward process as he was trying not to crash the car and kill them both. The jacket was large on her, which she expected as he was much taller than she was. The sleeves were too long and they swallowed her hands, which was fine for Sakura as she didn’t have a pair of gloves handy.

They were getting closer to their destination, and time was running out, yet Sasuke battled in his mind how best to continue their earlier conversation. After some back and forth thinking inside his head, Sasuke figured that perhaps this didn’t need to be handled immediately. She didn’t seem like the kind to try to exploit others; and after all, it wasn’t the first time he’d told his father and brother the half-truth in order to avoid unnecessary complications or panic. Sasuke decided that Sakura being involved in tonight’s plan would be something he kept to himself. And now, he could try to be a genuine human being for once.

“I heard this snowstorm is supposed to be bad.” The sound of her voice pulled Sasuke out of his thoughts, and he was surprised that she was the one to speak first. “Will you make it back home okay? Is it a far drive?”

Sasuke smirked, he found her worries to be endearing.

“Luckily, I picked the right car to drive today. Four-wheel drive.”

“Ah” Sakura said as she nodded. Although it was getting progressively harder to see, they drove along smoothy. “You’ll be fine then.”

Sasuke nodded in agreement, and the two fell into a comfortable silence as they drove along. Sakura gazed out the window at the falling sleet; it was beginning to turn into snow. Sasuke had turned off the highway at this point, and rows of tightly packed row homes passed by. A few windows glowed with light, early risers no doubt. But the sky was still dark and the traffic still scarce, which was fortunate for Sakura who was dying to get home to her bed.

Though, Ino was guaranteed to ask a billion and a half questions. Sakura found herself dreading to face her. Explaining every detail about the night she had was the exact opposite of what she wanted to be doing when she finally arrived home. Sakura sighed deeply and rested her forehead on the window, beginning to plot out exactly what she would tell her blonde roommate.

“Are you really that upset about the snow?”

Sakura laughed, pulling her knees up to her chest, “No, it doesn’t really bother me. I just hate being cold. And,” She added, turning her head to face him, “I’m not really quite sure what I’m going to tell my roommate when I get home. I’m tired and I don’t feel like dealing with it.”

“We can sneak you through the window. Then you won’t have to tell her anything.”

“Oh my god, that would be ridiculous” Sakura laughed, viridian eyes twinkling with humor, “like high schoolers.”

Sasuke decided that he liked that look in her eyes.

“Well, I don’t know what you were doing in high school, but I was never such a delinquent.”

“Oh please,” Sakura drawled, rolling her eyes. “Every adolescent has a hormone fueled delinquent phase— even if it you won’t admit it.”

“Mm. Not me.”

“Liar” Sakura said confidently. “Even my most well-behaved friends did one or two things they definitely weren’t supposed to.”

“I went to military school” He admitted, “There wasn’t much room to disobey authority. Though, my delinquent phase seems to be coming at a much later stage in life.”

Sakura nodded, not sure of what to say next. She wasn’t always one to judge, but he certainly did look the part. The way he carried himself, reacted to danger, and ordered others around was indicative of someone who had been through some shit. As a doctor she hoped that everybody would live their lives healthily and away from violence and danger, but as she watched the snow fall outside the moving car, she knew that would never be a possibility.

“Do you find yourself in these types of situations often?”

“Not by choice.”

Sakura’s eyebrows furrowed then as she looked out the window again. During her tenure at the ER, she’d seen more gunshot victims than she wanted to remember.

“Many of the people who come into the ER have gunshot wounds. And well… Many of them don’t get to leave.” Sakura warned, tone serious. He glanced at her then, fearing he had made her upset. But her expression was smooth and clear of any negative emotion despite her warning. _She must be incredibly desensitized to this kind of thing_ , Sasuke thought to himself, remembering the way she so expertly took care of Naruto without hesitation.

“I make sure to avoid the danger when possible,” Sasuke quipped, eager to return to a more light-hearted discourse, “But, I can’t always control everything unfortunately.”

Sakura shrugged. From her point of view she didn’t exactly want to enforce or encourage living that type of life, but ultimately decided to be humble and not quick to judge others.

“If you say so” She responded coolly.

Still, Sasuke found her response to be infuriating. _Annoying,_ he thought as his eyes returned to the road, _are women always like this?_ Despite his frustration, he secretly appreciated her concern.

It was snowing consistently now; big white fluffy dots floated down from the sky and coated the sidewalks. Luckily the roads were just wet but that would quickly turn into ice. Sasuke glanced down at this phone located in the cupholder. They were only a few minutes away. Eventually the townhomes that lined the streets turned into businesses. Delis, clothing shops, small family restaurants, laundromats and all manner of other kinds of storefront businesses. Only a few were open at this time in the morning.

He slowed down as he watched the blue dot on his GPS get closer.

“You can pull up to that hair salon just up there” Sakura said, leaning forwards and pointing out the location to him.

“You live… In a hair salon?”

Sakura looked at him like he had 4 heads—he couldn’t be this dumb.

“What? No. I live above it.” Sakura said slightly giggling. She pointed to the windows located above the hair salon.

“Oh” Sasuke said, a little surprised. Now he felt dumb.

“That was a stupid question wasn’t it?” He asked her, a crooked grin spreading along his lips.

Sakura couldn’t help but laugh at him. It was a light and pleasing sound, and Sasuke couldn’t help but stare as the soprano tunes of her laughter filled the car. Not one to deny the facts, he admitted to himself that he liked hearing her laugh, just like he liked to see her smile and the joy blossom on her features.

“That’s what happens when you don’t sleep. You get dumber” Sakura teased, offering him a joking grin.

“Right. Makes sense.” He said as he rolled his eyes, smiling.

Sasuke made sure to put the hazard lights on before exiting the car as he was parked in the middle of the street. He walked around to her side and pulled the door open, waiting patiently as she slid out of the passenger side. Reminded once again that it was freezing cold out, she hugged his loose jacket closer around her body to preserve warmth.

“Right. Well,” Sakura said, tilting her head slightly to look up at him, “Thanks for the ride.”

“Of course,” Sasuke muttered, his standard serious look returning to his features. They stood there awkwardly for a second before he realized that she was waiting for him to leave.

“My mother wouldn’t be very happy with me if she knew I didn’t walk a lady to her door” Sasuke admitted, eyes flashing over to the hair salon she had pointed out a few minutes’ prior.

Sakura gave him a surprised look as she brushed the snow from her hair. “I can’t remember the last time someone walked me to my door” she mentioned as they walked along, frost flowing from her mouth like smoke. “It might have been senior prom, but only because my date was deathly afraid of my father.”

“Well, I hope you can keep better male company.”

The snow continued to fall consistently, and the salt that was sprinkled over the sidewalk crunched under their feet as they walked. The pair came to stop at a door that stood right next to the entrance of the salon. It had a charming, weathered look to it, the light blue paint was chipped in some places and the faded gold numbers were just a bit uneven.

An unsettling feeling found its way into Sasuke’s chest then. _Disappointment._ This was the end of their time together. Sakura wasn’t rushing inside just yet, unsure of how to part ways. Minus the whole shooting and 200-million questions, Sakura had enjoyed his company. He was endearing when he felt like being so, and certainly easy to look at. Although his face seemed to be permanently frozen into a stoic expression, Sakura caught him having actual human emotions more than once tonight.

The wind blew then, sending flurries into a fury around them. Sakura groaned and hugged his jacket closer to her skin.

“Okay, I’m going to go inside and get some sleep. And warmth.” Sakura said, peering at him through the damp pink strands that fell over her eyes. “Thanks again for the ride”

“Of course. Thanks again for your help.”

“Of course” Sakura replied, offering him a small smile. She moved to go inside, turning the cold doorknob and pushing the door open slightly. She stopped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

“And I would really _really_ appreciate it” Sasuke started, already feeling bad for having to say it, “if you didn’t say anything to anyone about this. It could cause a lot of trouble on my end.” She was halfway into the doorway now, nodding slowly at his request as his hand slipped from her shoulder.

“Sure. Whatever you need.”

With a smile and another short thanks, Sakura closed the door. There seemed to be something significant about finally returning to the musty hallway entrance of her apartment. It made her feel as though none of it had really happened, as if she could forget tonight’s events and move on with her life. Though, that would be like living a lie. She found herself, as she ascended the stairway, afraid to forget the look in his eyes when she had caught him staring at her more than once on the ride to her apartment.

 _Oh fuck_ Sakura thought as she reached the top of the stairs _, his jacket._

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to write every day and I have been consistently working on this story. It’s my fun little side project, no matter how busy I get! It’s been a few months since the last post, but have faith in me, I love writing this story :) 
> 
> See you next chapter!  
> ✌.ʕʘ‿ʘʔ.✌


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